UFCThe Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts organization, recognized as the largest MMA promotion in the world. The UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and is owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC. This promotion is responsible for solidifying the sport's postion in the history-books.
UFC is currently undergoing a remarkable surge in popularity, along with greater mainstream media coverage. UFC programming can now be seen on FOX, FX, and FUEL TV in the United States, as well as in 35 other countries worldwide.

I may be alone here in thinking that the UFC's new 5-round main event policy is a big blow to MMA.

It's established that the UFC is the big league, if you watch your first MMA fight it's likely going to be a UFC fight. If you're watching it live, the main event is the pinnacle of the card and what you're going to remember the most.

Five rounds is too many. Twenty-five minutes of fighting won't mean more excitement, it means the same amount drawn out thinner. There's no athlete who can go at 100% for that long. Your mentality changes in a fight that long, you need to be very conservative and the remaining balance of the round looms over the fighters head anytime he's utilizing energy to be explosive.

Sure there are fights that make you want two more rounds - but if they originally started as five round fights the action would have been much different. And likely, the additional two rounds would be robbed of the excitement as a result of the exhaustion from the first three. A fight that was originally exciting for three rounds could be -overall - viewed as dull if the remaining two rounds aren't exciting.

Imagine Korean Zombie vs. Garcia going two more rounds with both fighters exhausted, unwilling to engage. It would never have been fight of the year.

If Griffin vs. Bonnar I had gone two more rounds and they were as inactive as round 3 of Falcao vs. Harris... would MMA be what it is today?

My proposal is not unlike the Pride rules, but more practical in my opinion:

Two 5-minute rounds. One 2.5 minute round, for 12.5 minutes total.

The 2.5 minutes will give a sense of urgency to whoever is losing the fight. And if the winner is playing it safe and not engaging, it's less time to sit through. It'll bring back the much needed "sense of urgency" that the unified rules don't encourage.

One consideration to help judging is to make the 2.5 minute round a 5-point must round. It will help eliminate draws due to a 10-8 round.

For title fights, three 5 minute rounds and one 2.5 minute round.

cliff notes: to encourage a sense of urgency, have two 5 minute rounds and one 1.5 minute round. The third round can be worth a maximum of 5 points to discourage draws due to 10-8.

I don't know, I feel in many fights that at the end of the 3rd, i'm dying for more. I do like the half round to void draws though. I just think with all the build up to a fight, 2-1/2 rounds just isn't enough when you have a good fight going.

I wouldn't mind three 5 minutes rounds like normal for a main event, plus that half round. Vs 2 extra full rounds.

I don't know, I feel in many fights that at the end of the 3rd, i'm dying for more. I do like the half round to void draws though. I just think with all the build up to a fight, 2-1/2 rounds just isn't enough when you have a good fight going.

I wouldn't mind three 5 minutes rounds like normal for a main event, plus that half round. Vs 2 extra full rounds.

I don't disagree that sometimes I'm dying for more after the 3rd round. But the difference is - that's VERY good for the sport. If you're dying for more after a fight, that's the best possible outcome. If you're over-saturated (like if every fight was 5 rounds) you'd be so sick of MMA by the end of the card. Law of diminishing returns.

(poss in part 2, at work and the computer here has no speakers so I can't be sure)
Also: "almost word for word" is not a complement.

2. Making one round 2.5 or 1.5 minutes doesn't make things better it makes them worse. If Joe Wrestler is dry humping his way to a decision and the third round is only 90 seconds, if he can secure 1 takedown, the round is his.

3. ALL fighters should be able to sustain a 5 round fight. If Machida, Shogun, Diaz, and Edgar can do it. Anyone can, the only excuses for not being able to is lazy training, or a lack of cage discipline.

The point about Griffin/Bonnar and Garcia/Zombie are legitimate. I won't take that away from you. And I also disagree with the 5 round main events. But making a fight shorter won't make it better. It will make hump-athons even more common. IMO the change in round length is one way the UFC is trying to effect change in this way, and also because someone, somewhere in power pays attention to internet forums.

IMO its not going to solve any problems by making main events 5 rounds. A change in the rules, whatever that change is (I'm not selfish enough to think I know the best way to balance a massive sport like MMA) the only real way to solve any problems.

However, when one starts to change the rules of a sport, where do you draw the line? Combat Sports in the Olympics are a perfect example of what happens when the micro-management of rules gets out of control.

Personally, I would prefer things stay exactly as they are, because any change, whether its the round length or the rules on stand ups/takedowns/stalling, its a hair's bredth from perfect to sport-ending.

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Quote:

I went out the way that I fight. I went out on my shield. Thatís it. Done. --Chuck Liddell

The 5 rounds thing is very debatable. There are some 3 round fights where you which there would be more rounds. Then again there are some 3 rounds fights that you wish that would end earlier. It's my personal bias but i hate watching any wrestler fight in a 3 rounder yet alone 5. The best thing for the sport is to break up clinches/guards/no action sooner and return the fighter to a neutral standing position.

If a wrestler is going to secure one take-down per round and have it win the fight, I'd rather watch a wrestling-based fight for 12.5 minutes instead of 15.

And Squirrelfighter, you don't understand when it comes to cardio. Anyone at the UFC level can fight for 25 minutes. But it's a very conservative, low-risk fight. Fighters are free to use their gas tank more explosively and aggressively in a shorter fight, that point is not debatable. You simply can't be in good enough shape to go aggressive 100% for 25 minutes, human bodies don't work like that. Jose Aldo is a GREAT example. He gives almost the same amount of aggressiveness in his title fights as he did in the 15 minute fights, and he's always gassed and disengaged by round five.

If a wrestler is going to secure one take-down per round and have it win the fight, I'd rather watch a wrestling-based fight for 12.5 minutes instead of 15.

And Squirrelfighter, you don't understand when it comes to cardio. Anyone at the UFC level can fight for 25 minutes. But it's a very conservative, low-risk fight. Fighters are free to use their gas tank more explosively and aggressively in a shorter fight, that point is not debatable. You simply can't be in good enough shape to go aggressive 100% for 25 minutes, human bodies don't work like that. Jose Aldo is a GREAT example. He gives almost the same amount of aggressiveness in his title fights as he did in the 15 minute fights, and he's always gassed and disengaged by round five.

They gotta change that wrestling bs also, i'm tried of watching guys win a round with a takedown and the dude gets right back up. If its a nice takedown/maybe a slam then ya, but grabbing a dude and using ur weight to take him down then for him to get right back up is a loop hole in the point system imo.

If a wrestler is going to secure one take-down per round and have it win the fight, I'd rather watch a wrestling-based fight for 12.5 minutes instead of 15.

And Squirrelfighter, you don't understand when it comes to cardio. Anyone at the UFC level can fight for 25 minutes. But it's a very conservative, low-risk fight. Fighters are free to use their gas tank more explosively and aggressively in a shorter fight, that point is not debatable. You simply can't be in good enough shape to go aggressive 100% for 25 minutes, human bodies don't work like that. Jose Aldo is a GREAT example. He gives almost the same amount of aggressiveness in his title fights as he did in the 15 minute fights, and he's always gassed and disengaged by round five.

I'm not just a fan I'm also a practitioner, so yes, I do "understand" what it means to have that kind of cardio.

As amazed as I am to be quoting Nick Diaz he said plainly that its bullshit that fighters gas out the way they do. He knows he can go at full speed for five rounds at 80% of his anerobic maximun, because through his Triathalon training he spends hours at nearly 100% of his anerobic max. And if one fighter can train hard enough to get into and stay in that kind of shape, and he only fights once every 3-4 months, what is the excuse for another fighter not being able to do the same when he fights with the same regularity?

As I said I'm against the 5 round main events. But I definitely think its a cop out to say fighters physically can't do it, when there's overwhelming proof that it is possible.

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Sig courtesy of that photo-matic magician limba

Quote:

I went out the way that I fight. I went out on my shield. Thatís it. Done. --Chuck Liddell

I have said it so many times, no one seems to consider it. TUF SYSTEM. The answer to all of this is sat right in front of everybody, born out of the need for shorter fights to suit a reality TV show.

It eliminates more grey areas in judging, it encourages aggression, less fighters will gas with a 2 round mentality, and dry hump fights will only have to last 10 minutes. If a 3rd round tie breaker is needed, the fighters should have enough energy to really try and secure the victory, it won't be a boring final round because both guys will feel like they could easily lose if they don't try.

I see literally NO disadvantages to changing to TUF system, only advantages. Title fights can be 4 rounders with a 5th round tie breaker, if a fighter dominates for the first 3, it ends at 3.

id rather all fights be 5 3min rounds (15mins) with 7(21Mins) and 9 (27Mins) round fights for title and number 1 contender or main event fights! Makes the point based scoring more fair and few more rest breaks to avoid fighters 'pacing them selves'

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